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‘Biggest Assault On Our Liberties in 800 Years’: UK Abolishing Trial by Jury Threatens Freedom of Speech

Freedom of speech will be under even greater threat if the British government is able to do away with jury trials for almost all cases because legal studies show a judge sitting alone is far more likely to convict defendants in free speech than juries, the Free Speech Union warns.

The Free Speech Union warns the United Kingdom risks losing “a check on governmental power and arbitrary justice” in “the biggest assault on our liberties in 800 years” if the government is able to push ahead this week with plans said to be looking at abolishing the right to a trial by jury in all but the most serious cases, such as murder, rape, terrorism, and others. For many other criminal cases where defendants face considerable jail time, the chance to have their guilt assessed by their peers hangs in the balance as Justice Secretary David Lammy looks for a cut-cost way to clear a backlog in cases, and the Union warns freedom of expression cases are particularly threatened.
In statistics cited by the FSU and reproduced by The Daily Telegraph, the Union said legal studies had found defendants in free speech cases are twice as likely to be acquitted by a jury than those who had sat in a court without. A statement by the Union said: “according to legal studies, jury trials provide a more balanced outcome, with higher acquittal rates in cases that might otherwise be influenced heavily by prosecutorial bias. Moreover, juries often bring diverse perspectives which lead to fairer judgments compared to decisions by a single judge who might have biases.”

2 thoughts on “‘Biggest Assault On Our Liberties in 800 Years’: UK Abolishing Trial by Jury Threatens Freedom of Speech”

  1. the uk is lost to the muslimes. most areas are no go, sharia law has been instituted instead of using the uk courts! coming here next! this is how they spread their disease!

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